Mari's Happy Halloween Hunting
by ShinyCDiver
Summary: It's another Halloween story revolving around the Love Live characters. This time, it's Aqours.
1. Mari's Hunt

Mari adjusted the hat on her head to block out the sun from above. She checked over her shoulder, making sure that all of her cargo was still in place. "Okay…deep breath…" She inhaled deeply, then exhaled. "I have to be calm. Being too loud will startle my prey…"

She stepped lightly through the trees. There were several pests in the area that she would have to get rid of-there's one now! She slid the rifle off her back as quietly as she could, not wanting to alert the squirrel rustling amongst the leaves. It was larger than most squirrels she had seen before, with shiny red fur; perhaps that was why she needed to get rid of it. She lifted her rifle, lining it up with the squirrel's head, planning to end the creature's life quickly and painlessly. _3…2…1…_ Mari pulled the trigger. The squirrel's body jerked with the impact and it collapsed, lifeless.

Mari sighed, glad that the animal died without struggle. She considered her next move; the gunshot would have certainly alerted any other creatures in the area to her presence.

…but it looked like she didn't need to move anywhere else yet. Movement caught her eye; a small animal scampering across the forest floor. The tanuki stopped next to the squirrel, resting a paw on the squirrel's body. Then it cried, a noise somewhere between a shriek and a wail. The tanuki chattered wildly as it whipped its head back and forth to look around the trees. Mari leaned out from her hiding spot behind a tree and fired.

The tanuki squealed with pain and fright. Mari cursed under her breath. Her error was causing more pain for the poor creature as it dragged a now wounded back leg through the leaves in its attempt to flee. Mari stepped out from behind the tree, taking better aim at the limping animal. She fired, knowing this time her aim was true. The tanuki cried one final time before it fell. It no longer moved.

Mari shifted her rifle to one hand and took out her notebook. She checked off two of the items listed on the purple pages, quickly looking over the rest of the list to see which creature she should go after next. "There is the issue in the mikan farms…but also an alley pest…" Mari sighed again, closing her notebook. "I guess I'll make my way over to the farm, but I'll get rid of the alley one if I come across it."

She coaxed the dog over with the treat of a peeled mikan. She wasn't warm to the idea of getting rid of a "pet" animal, but it was constantly causing disturbances with the amount of mikan it consumed. Still, she didn't want to give it a bloody death. And thus, Mari had created a different idea: injecting the fruit the dog loved with a fast-acting poison. "Come here, I'll give this to you."

The dog barked and trotted towards her, more quickly than before. It took the whole fruit from her hands, tearing it apart and gulping it down in a few bites. Mari stood over the dog, keeping an eye on the animal as she waited for the poison to take effect. It was too bad she had to get rid of the creature; its beautiful orange coat could have made it a wonderful companion.

It looked like the poison was starting to work. The dog whimpered, looking Mari straight in the eye, and pawed at its own throat. It barked once, then twice, spitting out specks of blood. It whimpered again, as its legs stopped supporting it. The dog fell, and with one final whine, it was dead. Another item checked off of her list.

As she walked back to the docks from the mikan farms, she encountered the cat. It was a sleek cat, not at all what she expected from an animal that lived in the city. Yet this was the one, with a brilliant and long red coat. It hadn't noticed her yet, and she preferred to keep it that way. Cats were skittish creatures, after all.

She followed the cat until she was alone with the animal. If she were completely honest, she wanted to avoid killing at a shrine, a place of good. But she must; this particular cat was troublesome enough to warrant her hunt. She still had not alerted the cat of her presence. Drawing a knife from her belt, Mari grabbed the cat from behind. It opened its mouth, attempting to yowl. She couldn't have people looking in to see what she was doing; she threw the animal down onto the asphalt, knocking the breath out of it. She raised her knife, completely ignoring the mewling cries of the cat, and brought her weapon down.

Mari followed the two animals on her family's motor boat. The dolphin spent more time underwater, only popping up to see if the boat was still following. On the other side, the seal swam steadily at the water's surface. She had built up trust with these two marine animals for a while now. It's sad they had to be eliminated like the rest of the trouble animals.

She stopped the motor boat, noting that the two were still on opposite sides of the boat. Mari walked over to the side closest to the dolphin, dragging a fishing net. The dolphin squeaked at her, playfully turning a tight circle in the water. Mari stared down at the dolphin, almost regretting having to kill it. But it was her duty now, getting rid of problem animals. She threw the net overboard, entangling the dolphin. It struggled in the netting, making clicking noises as it desperately sought a way out of the net. She walked away, ignoring the panicked dolphin trapped in the weighted net.

The seal barked at her as she looked down at it. Mari lifted the spear from her shoulder, listening but not comprehending the seal's cries. She heaved the spear with all of her strength; both weapon and animal vanishing beneath the surface. The ocean turned red with the seal's blood. There. Two more things checked off of her list. Two more to go.

She walked down the street, trying to figure out where the remaining two animals would be hiding. Mari knew the rabbit would probably be indoors somewhere, but she didn't know where. The bat, on the other hand, could be anywhere in town.

Mari had almost reached the high school when the animal crashed into her. The bat screeched and beat her about the head with its wings. She grunted, grabbing the mammal and throwing it to the ground. "This makes things easier. Now I don't have to find you." She checked around to make sure no one was around. She considered her weapon choices, which were limited now that she had thrown them aside after each use. She took out a switchblade and held down the bat with her knee as she flicked the knife part open. "This won't hurt that much." She reassured the frightened bat as it continued to struggle and cry beneath her.

Mari walked back home, half-expecting to get attacked by the rabbit in the same way the bat did. It would definitely make it easier on her if her target came out. She spotted the rabbit at her front path from a distance. "Hey." She said, pleased that the black-furred rabbit was waiting under a light. "Making things easier for me?"

The rabbit did not react. Mari walked closer, not afraid of the little animal. It still did not move, which unsettled Mari a tiny bit. "How come you're not moving?" Mari stood over the rabbit and nudged it gently with her shoe. The rabbit flopped over, revealing a puddle of its own blood. It was already dead. "…why did you…" Mari shook her head, walking past the body and into her house. She checked the last item off of her list and let the notebook fall to the ground. All done, all gone.

Mari stood in front of the mirror. She laughed to herself as she raised a gun to her head. "I thought I got all of them but I guess not…" She pulled the trigger. The last thing she saw was the fox in the mirror.

* * *

 **Happy Halloween!**


	2. Otherside

**Part 2**

* * *

Ruby knelt on the leafy ground. She picked up a leaf, inspected it, and then picked up another. She sighed. "There's too many pretty leaves. I just want to make a bookmark for Onee-chan, but I'm not sure which looks best…" She picked up another leaf, noticing that it was connected to another, smaller leaf. She considered it for a few seconds, then turned to look for Hanamaru, who had tagged along on the leaf-hunting trip. "Find anything, Hanama-" Instinct told her to look around at her surroundings. She heard the wind whistling but could not do anything to stop the bullet flying right at her head.

* * *

Hanamaru heard a thudding noise and she stood up from the bushes she had been looking through. "Ruby-chan?" She asked quietly, wondering if it was just her clumsy friend tripping over some branch or twig. But something felt wrong. She couldn't shake the feeling of unease as she made her way back to where she had last seen Ruby. She pushed her way past the tree branches, stopping dead in her tracks when she saw Ruby lying on the ground. "...no…" She whispered weakly, her hands falling to her sides. She took a tentative step forward, then another, until she was sprinting across the clearing to her friend's side. "Ruby-chan!" She tried not to look at the blood pooling under the other first year's head as she knelt at her side. "Wake up...please wake up! Ruby-chan!"

Like Ruby, Hanamaru heard the faint whistle in the wind, followed by a burst of pain in her leg only a few seconds after. She nearly blacked out from the pain, only keeping her wits to try and call for help. "Help! Please, someone, anyone, help us!" She forced herself up on her injured leg, knowing somehow that her only hope for salvation was to run away. "Help me, Yoshiko-chan!" Her body stopped listening to her after a second bullet found her heart. With the last of her consciousness, she prayed for Yoshiko's safety.

* * *

Chika hummed as she plucked another ripe fruit off of the tree. She was helping, voluntarily, at a classmate's orchard. "I don't think they'll miss a one or two~" She sang as she peeled the mikan. There were so many that needed to be harvested anyway.

She noticed Mari as she was licking the remainder of the mikan's juices off of her hand. "Hi, Mari-chan! Did you come to help out too?" Chika waited for a response, only getting more confused as Mari held up the orange fruit, already peeled and ready to be eaten.

"Come here, I'll give this to you." Mari said, a strange and not at all comforting smile on her face.

Chika fought with her instincts, reminding herself that Mari was a friend even if things seemed a little strange at the moment. She crossed the short distance between the two of them. "Thanks!" Chika said as she took the mikan. Again, Mari had no response for her.

Chika quickly gulped down the fruit, wondering if Mari was upset with her for some reason. She still couldn't shake her own uneasiness as Mari stared at her. She turned her own gaze away, intent on pretending to work until the awkwardness had gone away.

Something was very wrong. Her throat burned. Her chest felt like someone was squeezing the breath out of her. She turned back to Mari, trying not to betray the fear she felt as she met the third year's gaze. "What...what did you feed me?" She raised a hand to her own neck, the pain only increasing. Her eyes widened as she realized the only possibility. "W-Why?! Why would you do this, Mari-chan?!" She had to stop then, her throat hurting so much. She coughed; the blood she spat out in dark contrast with the light green of the leaves. "Dammit…" Her legs weren't listening to her; it was all she could to do stop her head from hitting the ground when she fell. Her chest heaved with the effort it took to breathe, and she somehow knew she was not going to survive. "Dammit…" She repeated, as tears streamed down her cheeks. "...I thought we were...friends…"

* * *

Riko walked down the street, planning on purchasing a pair of gardening gloves before she headed over to join Chika at the mikan farm. Life was infinitely more interesting after she moved to Uchiura and met all of her friends in Aqours. She had the strange thought of never seeing Chika again, but she quickly shook it off. There was no point in negativity, she reminded herself.

She purchased the gloves, and started on her way to the orchard, hoping that it wouldn't be too late by the time she got there. She could already imagine Chika pouting at her for wasting time. She checked her surroundings, noticing that she was very close to the shrine. "Well, I guess I could go and pray for Aqours' continued success." Her mind made up, Riko walked up the path to the shrine.

The place was empty, but then again, it always was. She stepped closer to the offering box, was only a short distance away when something tackled her from behind. She opened her mouth to scream, only growing more terrified as her assailant kicked her to the ground. She tried to regain her breath, glancing over her shoulder only briefly as her attacker raised a knife. "W-Wait, Mari-chan! W-Why are you- we- we can talk this out!"

* * *

Kanan slipped through the water, feeling completely at ease in the ocean. She could see You a couple meters away. Her competitive spirit awakened, Kanan swam harder to overtake the second year's lead.

She stopped when the motor boat stopped, and turned back to swim over to the side of the boat. It would be bad if she went off too far; she didn't believe she'd be able to make it back to shore from here. The only reason why she and You had swum so far out in the first place was because Mari was with them on the motor boat. That way, they could get an easy ride back to shore. Speaking of Mari, Kanan saw her now. Kanan waved. "Mari, come on in! The water feels great!" She swam in a small circle to emphasize her point, then looked back up at her childhood friend. "Mari?" She stared in confusion at the net the blonde was holding. "Are you going fishing? This isn't a good place for that you know?"

Her confusion heightened as Mari threw the net on top of her. Kanan struggled to try and reach the side of the net, even diving underwater to try and escape. Failing that, and learning that the net was weighted down with metal ends, she returned to the surface. "If this is a joke, it's not funny! Mari, get this off of me!" Kanan demanded. Her anger turned into panic as Mari ignored her and walked away. "Mari!" With a jolt of fear, she realized that her legs had tangled into the net as she tried to keep herself afloat. "Mari!"

She tried to calm herself as she was dragged underwater. She bent over, trying desperately to untangle herself before she ran out of air. But, as the seconds went by, she had no choice other than to accept the grim reality of her situation. She would never see the surface again.

* * *

You was quite concerned about the splashes on the other side of the boat. She had heard Kanan's cries, but had stayed still. She was conflicted; part of her wanted to go to Kanan's aid while the other part urged her to stay still, as Mari had instructed her. She had almost made up her mind to swim around the boat when Mari appeared above. "Oh, thank goodness." She sighed with relief. "What happened? Is Kanan-chan okay?" She looked up at Mari as she treaded water, not understanding why Mari wasn't answering her.

Mari was holding a spear. You hadn't noticed it before, but she clearly saw the sun's glint off of the metal as the third year raised it to her shoulder. "What's the spear for?" You knew the answer as soon as she had uttered the question. As the spear flew towards her, You tried to dodge to the side. Too late, she realized she should have dived instead. Pain exploded as the spear shattered her right shoulder. Unable to focus on keeping herself afloat amidst the pain, she sank beneath the ocean's surface.

The desire to survive awoke within her, but with Mari still above in the boat, You didn't dare resurface. She looked around, knowing that she had only a few seconds before her breath ran out. Far below her, she made out the outline of a net and realized what happened on the other side of the boat. You tried to kick back up to the surface, but the effort of doing so sent another wave of pain through her body. Her injured arm was useless. Even if she managed to get back to the surface, what then? Mari wouldn't help her, You understood that clearly. And she wouldn't be able to swim back to shore either; they had gone too far out. As she floated, cradled in the ocean's waters, she knew it was hopeless.

At least she would die with Kanan.

* * *

Yoshiko trembled with a mix of anger and fear. She paced the path leading up to the high school, knowing that she was in danger. She had watched Hanamaru get killed, had hid when Mari followed Riko up the path to the shrine. She knew that Mari was taking them out, one by one. How many of her friends were left? She didn't know. All she knew was that she'd avenge them. She'd avenge all of them. She saw Mari coming up the long path and climbed into her hiding space to wait. Her knife called for revenge.

When Mari walked past her hiding spot, Yoshiko jumped out, screaming. "For Zuramaru!" She cried, trying as hard as she could to slash, kick, and punch at the third year. Mari ignored all of the attacks, grabbing Yoshiko by the collar of her shirt and shoving her to the ground.

"This makes things easier," Mari said, walking over to Yoshiko, "now I don't have to find you."

Yoshiko lost her grip on the knife and it bounced harmlessly down the path, coming to a stop too far away to be useful. Yoshiko could feel Mari pinning her down and growled. "How dare you touch the body of the Fallen Angel Yohane with your sinful hands! You will pay for the deaths of Zuramaru and Lily and all the others!" If Mari heard her ramble, the third year didn't show it.

"This won't hurt much." She heard Mari say, and she glanced over her shoulder at the switchblade the blonde held in her hands.

* * *

Dia stood in front of Mari's house. She held a knife in her hands, the same knife that Yoshiko had dropped. She knew that everything was over. There was no point in trying to live anymore; Mari would hunt her down and kill her just as she had killed the other members of Aqours. "I won't give you that satisfaction." She growled as she raised the knife and plunged it into her own stomach. "I will die...on my own terms…" She grunted with the effort to tear the knife out of her body. With one hand holding back her blood, she threw the bloodied knife through the window of the house.

She had to sit down, falling heavily on her back against the front gate. She had only a few minutes left, judging by the amount of blood leaving her body. "Sorry, everyone." She muttered, only having just realized another plan. "I should have tried to fight. In the end….I only ran away."

* * *

 **Please review.**


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